Candidate vows to foster change

Sid Dinsdale visited McCook after announcing his bid for U.S. Senate. The Palmer, Nebraska native currently resides in Elkhorn where he is the President of Pinnacle Bancorp. (Shary Skiles/McCook Gazette)

McCOOK, Nebraska -- A Nebraska banker running for U.S. Senate says he wants to halt the overreach of government into Americans' lives.

Sid Dinsdale, a Palmer, Nebraska native, told the Gazette he intends to use his agricultural background, strong work ethic and valuable common sense to foster change in Washington.

Dinsdale is the President of Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. a four-bank holding company with interests in Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, and Texas. Pinnacle Bank-Nebraska had its start by Dinsdale's grandfather in 1940 as the State Bank of Palmer and is currently the second largest family owned bank in the state.

Dinsdale told the Gazette that he has ties to McCook, as his grandparents used to run the Keystone Hotel. His grandmother lived in a sod house north of McCook. He remembered visiting the Culbertson Zoo and fishing at Hugh Butler Lake as a child.

Dinsdale's main concern is the overreach of the federal government into the lives of its citizens and businesses. Dinsdale believes that there are far too many laws and rules that businesses must adhere to. "Every time they make a new rule that we are supposed to live with, they have to hire three people to make sure that we do it," he said.

He told the Gazette that the fiscal situation the government has created needs to be addressed, and he believes it has a long-term solution, "but everything has to be on the table -- everyone must share in order to fix it."

Dinsdale said he had a lot of respect for the other three current Republican candidates for U.S. Senate in Nebraska, which include Bart McLeay, Shane Osborn, and Ben Sasse. Running for Senate is Dinsdale's first venture into politics, and he pledged that he would never serve more than two terms. "I will go in not owing anybody anything," Dinsdale said. "I will vote what's best for the country using my Nebraska common sense."

"I have run a business for 40 years, creating jobs, living within my budget, adhering to rules and regulations, hiring and firing people," said Dinsdale. "I don't want to be a career politician -- I think that is what's wrong with this country."

More information about Dinsdale is available at http://www.SidForSenate.com